Lottery officials: Powerball winner is man in 30s

Dec. 7, 2012
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Karen Bach, Director of Budget, Products and Communications of the Arizona Lottery, announces during a news conference that one of the winning tickets in the Powerball jackpot was purchased in Fountain Hills, Ariz. / Ross D. Franklin, AP

by D.S. Woodfill and Cecilia Chan, The Arizona Republic

by D.S. Woodfill and Cecilia Chan, The Arizona Republic

PHOENIX -- The Arizona winner of half of the $587.5 million Powerball jackpot is a Fountain Hills man in his 30s who wants to remain anonymous, lottery officials said Friday.

Arizona Lottery executives announced the "record win" in a news conference at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix.

Officials said the Arizona winner decided to take the cash option and will receive a prize of $192 million before taxes, or $134 million after taxes. He is expected to receive his money on approximately Dec. 14.

The man and his wife moved to Fountain Hills a year ago from Pennsylvania, according to Karen Bach, director of budget, products and communications at the Arizona Lottery.

"He is a truly amazing individual," Bach said of the winner. "We have no doubt he will use the money to do amazing things."

Bach said the winner and his wife want to set up a charity and fund causes they believe in.

Bach said the man played Powerball regularly in Pennsylvania and only twice in Arizona before he hit it big.

He found out the morning after he had purchased the ticket that he had the winning number, she said.

"He and his wife could not believe it," she said. "They checked it over and over again."

Arizona Lottery Executive Director Jeff Hatch-Miller said the man indicated he wanted to continue working at his job, which he enjoyed.

Bach said the couple contacted legal and financial experts before calling her on Thursday night and saying that they had the winning ticket. Lottery officials received the ticket at 11 a.m. Friday and wereable to authenticate it within an hour.

"We are grateful an Arizonan won this prize," Hatch-Miller said. "We hope it becomes truly a gift to the winning family and to their future."

The record-breaking jackpot will be shared with the Powerball jackpot winners from Missouri, Mark and Cindy Hill, who claimed their prize on Nov. 30.

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